Ep. 17 East Cove Afternoons

So unfortunately tomorrow is my last official day with FOTC, but fortunately today was a hike day down to the East Cove where there is usually something cool going on and today was no exception!

Every week Mia and I seem to have an informal species of the day or species of the week. It could be because of something one of us read, saw on an walk or the inspiration from a visitor to the office. Species throughout the summer have included different flowers, trees, birds, amphibians, all different types of things.  This week conversation had been swirling around an unidentified bird picture we have in the office. Unlabelled but still a quality image we were unsure of exactly what it was we were looking at. In the last few days we identified our unknown species as a Black Crowned Night Heron (potentially the best bird name I have ever heard). To make things even better on our walk down to the East Cove trail late this morning we spotted a pretty fantastic trio fishing near the German-Canadian club. The Trio included a Great Blue Heron, a Kingfisher and a juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron all hunting in a stretch of water no greater then 25 metres. A pretty cool sight considering spotting any one of these three alone is worth pointing out let alone them all in one isolated spot! With the Great Blue Heron stalking through the shallow water and the Night Heron standing up on a nearby perch we watched as the Kingfisher repeatedly dive-bombed the waters surface hunting alongside his larger feathered compatriots. Pretty wild to see I have to admit. A great addition to my last week here at FOTC.

On the rest of the walk I managed to snap some cool pics along the shore of the East Cove. Check em out and/or head down to the East Cove Trail yourself!

Left: (Juvenile)Black Crowned Night Heron
Right: Great Blue Heron

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

Turtles think they're soo sneaky 

Me w/ the Cove Sycamore

Great Blue Heron 

Ep. 16 Did You Feel That?

GooOooOOood AaaaAaaffftEErnnooooon EeeevvVVeryBooddDyyy.... Whoa did anyone else just feel that? Here at the FOTC office this afternoon we were not spared of a lil shake and rattle as a earthquake measuring 5.9 on the richter scale shook down the eastern seaboard. The quakes epicentre which was estimated to be around Mineral, Virginia (almost 145Km southwest of Washington) has been said to be the largest quake in that area since 1987. Apparently today's quake was a particularly shallow quake at a depth of 6Km, and information continues to come in on any damage.

Cubes prior to Thirst Mob Assembly

Shaking things up earlier was the Thirst Mob in downtown today between Centennial Hall and Victoria park. Members of the City of London, Friends of The Coves and other participants took part in the demonstration to get people talking about water conservation. Featuring 18, 1 metre cubes to represent the water used by one average London household a month.  Each cubed was affixed with water conservation facts and statistics to educate onlookers at the importance of being mindful of our water usage.

At 12 noon today those cubes were marched by thirst mob volunteers to Victoria Park and arranged in a large circle at the North end of the park. To add to the fun and celebration the Thirst Mob was filmed from a scissor lift by members of the Fanshawe College film program. The footage taken will be edited and posted on the City of London's YouTube Channel in 1-2 weeks. You can also check out the London Metro News in the coming days for coverage. If you'd like to see the result of the Thirst Mob then head down to Victoria Park today (Aug 23) and check it out yourself! A big thanks to Kalen Pilkington for the invite to the event, Mia and I both had a blast taking part!

Mia cubed 

Chas cubed

Filming lift

Final assembly of the cubes

Ep. 15 Thirst Mobbin'

Flash mobs are the fun, new way for groups of people to get together and spontaneously entertain and bring attention to their cause.  Some involve large choreographed dance moves while others are more of an assembly under a unified theme. London has played host to several flash mobs over this summer alone, some taking place at the JLC and others around any one of the 2011 summer festivals.  

Well your chance to be a part of a flash mob this summer is not lost! 

Tomorrow Tuesday August 23rd the CLEAR Network is assembling a "Thirst-Mob" to raise awareness about water resources.  

The CLEAR Network (City of London Environmental Awareness Reporting Network) is an organization aimed at educating specifically Londoners on important local environmental topics, ranging from waste management to urban planning to the Thames River. The network is made up of partners including the City of London, London Hydro and Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.  For more information on the CLEAR Network CLICK HERE

Tuesdays Thirst Mob will be starting at 12 noon @ City Hall and moving to Victoria Park. For those of you who are interested you'll need to be at City Hall for 1130am for preparation. However fear not... 

THERE WILL BE NO DANCING! #win.  

If you have any questions or would like to participate in the Thirst Mob please contact Kalen Pilkington 519-661-2500 ext. 7363 or email at kpilking@london.ca for full details 

Friends of The Coves will be there to show our support so we really hope to see lots of faces out tomorrow. 

The Thirst Mob will be filmed and uploaded to the City of London YouTube channel so if your looking for an opportunity to gain some exposure this is a great chance! Again, we hope to see a wicked turn out tomorrow, be thirsty! 

Ep. 14 TV Interviews and Tom Benner

The wait is finally over! For those of you who have been following The Cove Life throughout the summer you might remember that in Ep. 8 [Pollinator Power in Swallowtail Grove] I mentioned that Rogers television and MaryAnne McDonald with EcoVox TV had come by Swallowtail Grove to film interviews and footage as part of an episode on the importance of pollinators and pollinator sanctuaries. After several weeks waiting in self admitted nervousness [of appearing as a goof on television] the episode of EcoVox TV has finally aired! For the show times on Rogers Television London Click Here, the episode will be airing all week so you have several chances to see it. The episode which features myself & FOTC President Thom McClenaghan extends information on Swallowtail Grove, pollinator gardens and the importance of pollinators to our food chain and to our ecosystems.  Thanks again to Rogers Television, MaryAnne McDonald and EcoVox TV for joining us!

Photo: Dena Crain
Sculpture: Tom Benner

FOTC would like to announce as well that we are releasing vintage poster prints from Tom Benner's 1990 Coves exhibition. If you are unfamiliar with the name Tom Benner then  you may be familiar with his iconic aluminum sculpture of a rhino which stands outside Museum London at the forks of the Thames.  The posters which have remained stored at the FOTC office are prints of one of the original pieces produced by Tom Benner for the 1990 exhibition. Featuring mixed media iconic images from the coves including the majestic and brave sycamore tree which still stands today on the banks of the East Cove the prints are a beautiful example of what makes the Coves so great. If you are interested in purchasing a copy for yourself, friends or family feel free to contact us at the FOTC office. The prints are 16.5"x31" and are availible for $10 each tax included.  

                                          Friends of the Coves Subwatershed Inc
                                          111 Elmwood Ave East
                                          London, Ontario
                                          519 640 5397
                                          contact@thecoves.ca

Ep. 13 Pilot Projects About to Take Off

Before I get into the new pilot project FOTC is about to launch, I'd like to thank all our supporters for voting for Restore the Coves to it's Natural State, in the Share your Care Challenge. Nationwide we finished 4th overall! We may not have finished in the top 3 but with an amazing 1566 votes we can be nothing but thrilled at the outpouring of love from the Forest City. 

All that being said a MASSIVE congratulations is due to Reforest London and the Million Tree Challenge for taking top spot with over 3000 votes! Utilizing social media outlets like Twitter the buzz/trend created around share your care and the Million Tree Challenge influenced hundreds of people to show their support and vote day after day. We here at FOTC are so proud to have been a part of the campaign and to have collaborated with Reforest London over the last month, way to go!! As the winners of the Share your Care Challenge Reforest London will be receiving a $25,000 grant to put towards the Million Tree Challenge and their work around London from Fido and Evergreen.  

Now on to new business! FOTC will be embarking on an erosion awareness public outreach program this week. Many of the homes in the Coves sub-watershed back on to steep ravines and the banks of the cove ponds. These areas are all very prone to higher rates of erosion compared to other properties in the sub-waterhed and the city. To help local homeowners and residents, FOTC is putting together stewardship packages packed full of some helpful information and tools to encourage anti-erosion strategies. Our goal is to help people learn ways to maintain their property in a way which will discourage erosion and activities that maybe be inadvertently aiding the erosion process. The pilot project will be in select streets in the sub-watershed, however if the response is positive we will be expanding to include more neighbourhoods. 

Ep. 12 Before & After

Last week FOTC was visited by three masters of journalism students from UWO. We had the chance to show them around the coves, extend to them a little history lesson and even though the weather wasn't the most cooperative with the outing or their equipment we were able to have a great and informative afternoon. During the tour and prior to filming some brief clips and interviews in Swallowtail Grove we squired the aspiring Mustang reporters to the head of the East Pond. The East Pond has a beautiful lookout with two engraved benches overlooking the water, not that anyone would have been able to tell. It was very apparent that over time FOTC's nemesis European Buckthorn had overgrown the gap in the lookout and those benches now faced a wall of green. A side note was made during our tour that something needed to be done to re-establish this lookout as a place to enjoy the coves.

Before: As you can see. You can't see much

This morning, Mia and I set out to do battle with the buckthorn and clear out the dense ticket which had grown in just between the benches and waterline.  

With our arsenal of pruning tools, bit by bit, stem by stem we removed chunks of the buckthorn menace (did you ever think pruning could sound so exciting?). The dense mass of buckthorn and grape vines proved to be no easy task to remove. Needle sharp thorns held together with the tendrils of the grapes made the going slow initially. However with each piece removed the window began to open gradually and the light off the water began to show through. Not surprisingly we discovered that there was at least five individual buckthorns growing inside this area no greater then 5x3m. Each individual having around 7-10 stems and more sharp thorns then I would really care to remember. However FOTC came out victorious in the battle buckthorn and as you can see in the after photo the results were really something to smile about.  

After: Take that buckthorn, I'll be back for your stumps tomorrow

Finally you could see the waterline without have to search for it and the lookout had an comfortable location to sit and enjoy the East Pond. A small victory but a victory nevertheless. We here at FOTC encourage you to take a walk down to the East Pond lookout and have a sit and enjoy.  It's hard to believe a hidden gem such as this lookout exists not even 10min from downtown, let alone less then 20 metres from a major traffic artery like Springbank Dr. This might make waiting for the #5 Springbank just a little bit easier. Unfortunately the battle is not over at the East Pond lookout. The stumps that remain are exceptionally stubborn and I'm sure will be a battle unto themselves to remove. For now though I might as well sit back, relax and enjoy the view. :)

Ep. 11 The Coves Bloom Green

The trail behind this Canada goose shows the density of the bloom 

Within the last week or so members of FOTC as well as members of the public have noticed a drastic colour change in the water of the west cove pond. During this period of time the water of the west pond as well as parts of the south pond have turned a startling shade of green which can be attributed to a large bloom of algae.
These large blooms are not uncommon and we see them in many, many different aquatic systems.

As familiar as we are with the occurrence of these algae blooms many of us are not as familiar with how or why exactly they occur. Many, are also unaware of how a large scale blooms similar to that we are seeing in the coves currently can mean for the overall ecosystem. One of the main catalysts that can be attributed to blooms such as the one were seeing in the coves is phosphorus. Phosphorus naturally exists in aquatic systems in balance with the needs and requirements of the environment. However if these levels fall out of this balance it can have real effects that can be detrimental.

This balance of phosphorus in a natural system can be altered by the addition of extra phosphorus from outside sources. Common sources include: detergents, fertilizers and agricultural/urban runoff.

West Cove Flag

When an aquatic system falls out of balance it can lead to the increased growth rate of algae (which can also be referred to as cyanobacteria). This increased growth rate results in what we see in the west cove pond currently: an algae bloom.

The real danger of the increased growth of algae is that it will deplete the dissolved oxygen levels in the water. When a system is low in dissolved oxygen it is said to be in a state of hypoxia. This is a problem as anything living in the water requiring oxygen such as fish or other plants, would no longer be able to survive. The algae bloom can essentially suffocate the aquatic system.

In order to protect our aquatic systems appropriate phosphorus levels were determined and set by scientists that will help prevent large scale algae blooms. To maintain these levels we need to be conscious of our use of phosphorus and products that contain them as well as their disposal.  

Algae blooms can effect more then just the oxygen levels of our aquatic systems. They can impair animal habitats, disrupt light from penetrating into the water preventing aquatic photosynthesis, and interfere with human activities such as swimming, fishing and boating.

So what can we do to make sure we at home can help avoid adding excess phosphorous to our aquatic systems? Environment Canada made these three (3) suggestions:

• Compost your food waste instead of using a kitchen food waste disposal garburator. Keeping food out of wastewater treatment plants helps to reduce nutrient loadings into the lakes.
• Use phosphorus-free and slow release organic fertilizers on your lawn and garden, and use them only when it’s not raining or when rain is not being forecasted.
• Have your septic system inspected regularly and ensure it is properly used and maintained.